Rent party

Rent party, party thrown by African Americans who lived in urban neighbourhoods during the early decades of the 20th century to collect money for rent. Rent parties were part of a solution to a growing housing crisis caused by swelling urban populations, which landlords responded to by raising formerly affordable rents. As urban rents rose, families found themselves paying exorbitant prices to cram into tiny apartments, sometimes several to a room. Some of those who struggled to raise the monthly rent began inviting guests to parties a few days before rent was due, charging 25 cents for admission and extra for drinks.

Rent parties, referred to in any number of blues songs of the era, were boisterous, exuberant events. Printers traveled from block to block with notices, often with risqué epithets, that they posted in public places. The parties often attracted people who would not be found at highbrow social events, such as truck drivers, porters, cooks, laundresses, and other working folk who welcomed the chance to relax and let loose with friends. The writer Langston Hughes claimed to prefer the “nonintellectual” atmosphere of rent parties to the elite gatherings favoured by some of his peers.

Hosts of rent parties usually supplied soul food, such as chitlins (chitterlings; deep-fried pig intestines), pigs’ feet, hopping john (black-eyed peas and rice), and potato salad. Homemade beer and gin were also offered in defiance of Prohibition laws.

Music too was an essential element of most rent parties, usually featuring a drummer, a pianist, and a saxophone player hired for the occasion. The distinctive raucous style of music that developed, known as “rent party,” or “skiffle” jazz, became associated with such musicians as James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and Willie (“The Lion”) Smith. Even jazz notable Duke Ellington named one of his songs “Rent Party Blues.” Meanwhile, uninhibited dancers attempted novel moves that evolved into the lindy hop and other popular aerobic dance steps.

Rent parties appealed so greatly that they were sometimes held on weeknights, and often several parties took place in the same building. The drinking, wild dancing, and flirting that took place at rent parties were a temporary escape from the harsh realities of daily life. They also benefited their hosts by raising rent money and served an important social role in urban communities by bringing neighbours together. While the most famous rent parties of the era took place in Harlem, they were also popular on Chicago’s South Side and in other large cities until the end of Prohibition.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper, Senior Editor.

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